United States: what we know about the shooting of a 6-year-old student against his teacher

A 25-year-old teacher was seriously wounded by gunshots Friday at her elementary school in the East Coast town of Newport News, Virginia. According to the first elements of the investigation, it was a 6-year-old student who shot him.

Teacher’s health ‘improves’

Authorities have not said how the boy got hold of the gun or who owned it. On the exact circumstances of the tragedy, they explained that it was not an “accidental shooting.” According to initial information, the boy would have shot his teacher after “an altercation.”

Abby Zwerner was shot in the abdomen and admitted to hospital in critical condition. According to Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones, her condition improved over the weekend. Several sources report that after being beaten, the teacher would have asked the other students to flee.

The child currently in custody

According to the BBC, the establishment – which has about 550 students – has metal detectors. Students are checked randomly and not all children are checked every time. The six-year-old is now in custody.

“We are making sure that he has all the services that he needs right now,” Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones said Saturday.

Under Virginia law, six-year-olds cannot be tried as adults and, if convicted in juvenile court, are not old enough to be committed to the Department of Justice. However, the authorities could take custody away from the parents.

51 school shootings in 2022

“It’s a very rare situation and the legal system is not really designed or positioned to deal with it,” researcher David Riedman, founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database, told The Associated Press.

In the United States, school shootings by such a young student are rare but not unprecedented. According to The Guardianthere have been sixteen incidents involving shooters under the age of ten since 1970. The numbers are rising according to Daniel Webster, a professor and gun violence expert at Johns Hopkins University.

The city’s mayor said he saw the drama as “a red line for the country,” adding, “I think after this event there will be a nationwide discussion about how many things of this genre can be avoided.”

According to Education Week, there have been 145 shootings resulting in injuries or deaths in schools in the United States since 2018, including 51 in 2022.